The First Time You Talked To Me
by Sanguine Dreams
Summary: Love, like a river, will cut a new path whenever it meets an obstacle. Love, like a flower, will bloom even in the most unlikely places. [Sakuracentric]
1. First Words

_For 'that someone just for me', wherever he may be; for my mom, thank you so much for putting up with a daughter like me, you'll never know how much I wonder each night on just how you didn't give up on such a girl; and for everyone who had ever fell in love._

* * *

Honorifics- 

-sama: A term used after one's name to show respect.

-chan: It's usually directed towards girls to express endearment.

-kun: A suffix used after a male's name to express endearment or familiarity.

* * *

**The First Time You Talked To Me**

Chapter One

_First Words_

First Written: January 31, 2006

Edited: February 20, 2006

* * *

_'You're annoying…' _

Those were the first words he said directly to her when they had an actual conversation.

_'…you're annoying…' _

Those were the words that broke her heart when she left it by his feet. Two years past ever since that day. Naruto was injured badly when he came home. _'I'm sorry Sakura-chan…I couldn't bring him back…'_ Two years. Two long freaking years filled with nothing but her vows to get stronger. Two years…filled with nothing but her brooding memories of him. That traitor. That bastard of a friend. That Sasuke.

* * *

"Sakura! There has been numerous reports on a plot against Konoha. Numerous villages have been slaughtered; villages very close to here. Naruto and Neiji have already been informed of all this and you will most likely be joining them on this S-ranked mission the day after tomorrow. You will be lounging in a nearby village, where rumors have that it will be attacked next. You are after all our best medic, and…just be careful." Tsunade's pause made her wonder. 

"Of course, Tsunade-sama." Sakura bowed and walked out of the room quietly.

Tsunade briefly glanced out the way Sakura went and sighed.

"You're always trying so hard to prove yourself…just don't get hurt again…Sakura."

The gentle rush of wind pushed through the doors of her room and she shivered lightly. The room wasn't as great as before, nor was it cozy. It was hollow and reeked of all those tears the kunoichi inwardly groaned and fell into the pink bed. Sleep overtook her before she could help it and fell into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

She was awoken in the most unpleasant way. It wasn't as nice as how she would wake up, sweat-drenched in fear of Sasuke returning to destroy her precious home; no, it was far worse. She woke up, sweat-drenched, trying to recall exactly what she was dreaming about. It wasn't often for her to forget her dreams, and she had a sick feeling in her stomach signaling she didn't like it. Her emerald eyes glanced out the window of her apartment and noticed it was dark, really dark. She turned her head and looked at her clock across the room. 1:56 AM. _Damn it's late!_ she thought to herself. Her pounding in her chest told her she wasn't going to get sleep anytime soon, so she shrugged off her covers and raced into her bathroom. 

Twenty minutes later, she emerged, with a blast of steam, feeling better than before. She looked out to the window one last time before deciding that taking a walk didn't seem like such a bad idea. _There's nothing better to do anyways._ Inner Sakura pressed.

* * *

If he hadn't stepped out of the alleyway drenched in blood, she would have never noticed him. Hadn't Sasuke say that his level of sneakiness was equal to that of Kakashii's? There was no way she could have noticed him if it weren't for the coincidental meet; she was walking by while he walked out. The light of the street lamp made shadows on his face, making his eyes look more deadly than she had ever saw them. Maybe she was tired. There was no way he would ever come here. He was a Kazekage for goodness sakes! 

Sakura shook her head, trying to clear whatever her mind was hallucinating. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the same figure, only this time, closer. His lips curved into a smirk and she inwardly shuddered.

"H-Hey, Gaara! What brings you here?" She swallowed, but it seemed to only make her throat drier.

"Mission." The blunt answer was probably the most she would ever get out of him. It was already a miracle that he didn't kill her right then. But then again, it could be because he didn't want to harm the delicate thread of alliance between the Sand and Konoha.

"Oh…uh…well…have a nice day!" Sakura made a quick bow before running off completely in the other direction. _Damn his freaky attitude! If I hadn't known any better, I'd say he was enjoying it! Damn that stupid bastard… _Inner Sakura fumed at the thought of someone belittling her. _But if I had stayed any longer, we may have tried something…besides I couldn't take the silence any longer._ Sakura reasoned with her Inner half. She was so busy glancing every few seconds behind her that she didn't notice someone before her until it was too late.

She crashed into a firm wall of flesh.

"Running away again? Pathetic." The male before her stared at her as if she were nothing more than a piece of filth and started to walk away. _How dare that mascara wearing, no-eyebrow freak insult me! _Inner Sakura's ranting about how the 'stupid, good-for-nothing, killing machine was belittling her again for the second time' really was getting on Sakura's nerves and before she could stop herself she opened her mouth.

"Come back here you no-eyebrow freak! How dare you belittle me!" Sakura was about to slap her hands over her mouth when he turned around with a gleam in his eyes. Gleams were never good when they came from Gaara.

"What did you say?" He was stalking towards her fallen body. The kunoichi quickly stood up and tried to compose herself.

"You heard me, or is the great Kazekage-sama really not as great as everyone says?" There was no way she was backing down. Backing down meant that she was scared and that would prove him correct that she was indeed running away. Even if she wanted to just bail her eyes out for him to take mercy on her death, her pride would leave no room for such an useless escape route. He narrowed his eyes and Sakura could tell he wasn't wearing mascara. _Damn! There goes my hypothesis of him being gay._ Inner Sakura sighed. Then way did he have those rings around his eyes? _It must be a beauty mark…or…it could be because someone punched him too hard…naw! It could be brought on by his lack of sleep. Insomnia. Yes, that could be the reason. Didn't Naruto say something about that? _

"Well? Aren't you gonna say something? Or are you just going to stare at me all day?" There she was again, burying herself in more shit than she could dig herself out of. She raised her head and stared at his deadly pale green eyes. Inner Sakura shuddered and started ranting on about how scary his eyes were. His lips slowly curved upwards into a smirk and briefly pushed back some of her bubble-gum colored bangs behind her ears.

"So soft…so delicate…it wouldn't take much effort to break you." He pushed a hand into her hair and forced her head forward, bringing the rest of her body too. _Oh my god! Is he hugging me? Ack!_ Inner Sakura's musings were cut short when Sakura felt a warm velvety object strike against her cheek.

"So sweet. So innocent. I wonder how your blood would taste…" At this point Sakura growled and started struggling wildly against his hold. _He's going to kill me!_ _This is your entire fault!_ Sakura panicked. _My fault? You were the one who actually scream out the words!_ Inner Sakura screamed right back. Ragged breaths stopped her squirming; she paused and tried to listen desperately for his next words.

"Stop struggling…fight me." He managed to groan against her neck. At least if it were a fight, he would have an excuse to drink her blood, without having to kill her and breaking the alliance of the two lands.

"No." If she were to fight with him, he would kill her, no questions asked. Him and his desert coffin. She saw it in action; crushing the body of his enemies with a flick of his wrist and making it rain blood. The death was quick and painless, but she was not dying a virgin!

"Yes." He tightened his hold on her waist until it started hurting.

"Stop it. You're hurting me." _No duh! Isn't that what he wants to do? But now that you think about it…what good is it to him if he were to kill us?_ Sakura started pondering, trying to ignore the pain about her waist. _To feed his gourd maybe?_ Sakura answered. _But if he did kill us, it would break the alliance and Konoha would be on his back for years. Naruto would kill him._ Seeing that Inner Sakura had a point and the pain around her waist was becoming unbearable, she opened her mouth to change her answer.

"Fine." She managed to gasp out. His hold loosened but he didn't let go. _There is so going to be a bruise tomorrow._ Sakura winced.

* * *

"Damn!" Sakura cursed as her fist landed on the ground, creating a massive crater. 

"Too slow." His warm breath pressed against the base of her neck and she shuddered when a small line of sand began to form in front of her. Quickly seeing the danger and advantage she had, she whirled her feet and landed a forceful kick on something solid.

"I told you. You're too slow." The copy made of sand cracked under her inhumane strength and she felt a quick slice on her arm. Warm droplets rolled down as her body started healing itself on its own. She quickly whipped her head around to throw another punch when he caught her by the arm.

"This match is over." In a whirl of sand, he disappeared. _Damn him!_ Sakura raged. She glared at the direction in which he once was standing and huffed.

* * *

Gaara watched the retreating figure of the kunoichi as he licked the blood dripped kunai. A shiver ran down his spine._ Delicious._ He slowly licked the remainder of the blood from the sharp weapon and marveled at the metallic taste. Maybe his stay would benefit him in a way… 

When the Hokage told him that she would really appreciate it if he were to help her on the next mission, he declined automatically. Why would he waste a bunch of his time saving Konoha? He was very busy, no time for meddling in the affairs of others. Then that smirk glued itself on Tsunade's face. That blasted smirk.

_"Well, Kazekage-sama. I'm afraid you'll have to accept this mission." _

_"And pray tell why should I?" Tsunade's smirk grew wider and her eyes sparkled in the most unusual way. _

_"You are the only one acceptable for this spot. Kazekage-sama, you are the only one who can defeat Sasuke, no?" Damn her ways of twisting it into a way he found pure pleasure in: fighting. _

_"No. There's that idiot, Naruto." Ha! Take that! There was no way she could make him change his mind…no matter how tempting the position sounded. _

_"But, Naruto would **never kill** Sasuke. I'm afraid there may be a risk in which he would attack the team, and nobody except you and Naruto can defeat him; if he were to attack viciously, Naruto would be too soft on him, which Sasuke most likely would use as his advantage." _

The idea of killing the Uchiha and feeding his precious gourd really did bring him to his limits; but having the **permission **to kill him? That sent him over.

* * *

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! We're leaving for the mission tomorrow!" Naruto's stamina was really something to admire. Neiji sighed and muttered something about losing to such an idiot. 

"I already know that, Naruto!" Sakura screamed. Even with her body's unconscious healing abilities, there was still a small bruise from Gaara's hold; Naruto had the tendency to jump up and throw her into a hug, which would have him wrap his arms around her waist…where the bruise was.

"The Fifth Hokage wishes to meet us. We'd better hurry." Neiji said. Sakura nodded and Naruto grumbled.

"That Granny Tsuande, what does she want with us now?" But nonetheless, Naruto bounced off with Sakura and Neiji right behind him.

They stopped in front of a large building and entered the room. Sakura suppressed the urged to scream in frustration when she met a pair of dull emerald eyes.

"Sakura, I want you to wait outside for a moment." Tsunade motioned for her to step outside and shut the door. Once the girl was out of view and the door was shut, the Fifth Hokage nodded at Naruto and Neiji.

"You are well aware of the danger you may be to put up with. Gaara, here, has been willing enough to lend us a helping hand." It was just so obvious Naruto wouldn't be able to leave his mouth shut. If he was too loud, Sakura might hear him; Gaara's little event this morning certainly wouldn't bond well with the fact that he'll be on the team.

"Granny Tsunade! What is he doing here? He's a Kazekage, damnit! He has a village to look after!"

"Well-"

"Temari and Kankuro are more than qualified to make decisions. I trust them." Gaara finished for the blonde woman.

"Gaara, what are you doing here? Helping us with what?" Neiji spoke for the first time since entering the room. Gaara's lips curved into a smirk, recalling the early morning encounter with a certain pink-haired female.

"Mission."

* * *

"ARGH! Can you believe her? Telling me to cut down on my ramen supply. She's just like Kakashii!" Naruto fumed in front of Sakura and Neiji. Sakura looked down at the pair of black gloves Tsunade gave her. 

_"These gloves are different from your other pair. While it is to protect your hands, it also absorbs and stores some of your chakra, minimizing the amount of chakra needed to fight and perform jutsus." Tsunade gave her a brief smile before turning over to Neiji and discussing a few brief things about the mission and their money supply. _

_The kunoichi was surprised to see the desert man gone when she was told to step into the room, but she shrugged it off thinking it was nothing really important. Naruto would tell her if it was. _

"See you at the park in an hour Sakura-chan! Bye Neiji!" Naruto beamed at the female and bounced off. Leaving her alone with a man with extremely pale eyes. She turned to Neiji and smiled.

"Neiji, what was it that happened when I wasn't in?" Neiji looked puzzled for a moment and answered.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself over, Sakura. You better hurry yourself and bring an extra change of black clothing." With that said, Neiji walked off. Sakura sighed and sadly shook her head. _What is with all the guys being so 'a man of little words'?_ Inner Sakura laughed in her head. _Don't you find that attractive?_ Sakura paused at the thought and blushed; quickly shaking her head and heading off for home, she tried to ease the feeling of being watched.

* * *

She threw in her extra change of clothing and three pairs of undergarments. She paused awhile before throwing in a hairbrush; a girl must always brush her hair, especially her pink her that loved to get into a tangled mess. The kunoichi threw her head back and tied her uniquely colored hair into a stubby little ponytail before securing her forehead-protector in its usual place. A few stray bangs fell on her face, but it was better than its usual mass of bubble gum color in her eyes. Nobody can ever be too safe; she would never know when an enemy would attack and having her bangs in her face scratching out her eyes while she tried to fight just wouldn't cut it.

Sakura checked the clock before running to her bathroom and wrapping her fingers around her trusty first aid kit. She _was_ going to be the healer of the group after all. Emerald eyes scanned the room for anything that the medic nin could have forgotten and they landed on a pair of gloves. _Damn! Thank god I didn't miss these._ Sakura breathed. She threw on the black gloves securely over her hands and ran out the door, shutting it loudly after her.

When she got to the park, she noticed that Neiji was already there, not a big surprise. However, the one next to him did surprise her.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Sakura demanded from the paled eyed man. Neiji stared at her like she was a complete dumbass before answering.

"He's on the mission with us, didn't you know?" Gaara looked slightly amused at the assistant of the Fifth Hokage's expression. Her pupils dilated and her mouth hung slightly opened. To put it simply, she looked like Naruto when he was in shock.

"Sakura-chan! Let's go! Let's go!" Naruto ran by jumping with excitement and bid a quick greeting to Neiji and Gaara. Sakura shook her head out of her shocked state and glared at Neiji and Naruto, as if blaming them for the presence of the Kazekage. Naruto cocked his head in confusion while Neiji shrugged and smirked at Sakura's behavior.

The four ninjas turned their heads around started walking towards the only way in and out of Konoha.

"Let's go!" Naruto threw a fist up in the air and looked on with determination at the land just beyond the border of Konoha.

* * *

Gaara suppressed the urge to jump the pink haired female walking in front of him and lick her. _Such innocent blood…_He shuddered at the thought of once again feasting one her, but with her as an ally in his mission and a close friend of Naruto, he couldn't risk harming her. His eyes observed the way the kunoichi's eyes averted back and forth from Naruto's talkative person and around her. _Paranoid._ Gaara thought with a small grin. 

The Kazekage's eyes unconsciously landed on the young woman's well-defined ass. When he realized he had been staring he cursed himself for allowing his, usually under control, hormones to get the better of him. He was a sixteen-year-old boy of god's sake! It wasn't his fault for not being able to allow himself to feel an attraction to the opposite sex. He would never let anyone get too close to him. He couldn't. Not after what Yashamaru did.

_"Your mother…she never loved you."_

"Gaara. Are you okay?" The sand welder unclenched his fist and eyes. Concern shone brightly at him in the form of green colored gems. He stared into their depths and nodded. She smiled at him and held out her hand. Gaara stared at it in s strange way. _What do you want?_ He questioned inwardly.

"Since I figured we're gonna be working on the same mission in the same team, I want to call it truce between us. So let's shake on it." He slowly raised his hand and grasped her's. _They're so small._ He thought before he widened his eyes and jumped Sakura onto the ground.

"Hey! What are you-" Her voice died off in her throat when four shurikens wheezed by near her face.

"Naruto!" Gaara ordered.

"I'm on it! Kage bunshin no jutsu!" Multiple Narutos appeared as they all ran for the trees in which the weapons were thrown from. Gaara stepped up and quickly scanned the area, much like Neiji was doing a few yards away.

"There are eighteen of them." Neiji indicated to the Kazekage. Gaara narrowed his eyes when twelve kunais aimed towards him. His sand moved on its own and created a wall in front of him.

"Pathetic." He growled. That's when he felt it. A mass of chakra heading straight towards them.

"Ha! They're coming out now!" Naruto jumped out from a tree and stood next to Gaara, while Sakura stood up and backed herself against Naruto.

"Hakkeshou Kaiten!" In a blast three ninjas jumped away from the paled eyed man. Neiji stopped his spin and smirked. "You shouldn't play with toys you don't know how to use." He opened up his hands and dropped four shurikens and five kunais. _He grabbed those when he was spinning._ Naruto exclaimed in his mind.

"Rasengan!" Naruto's scream and a flash of blue light signaled that the battle wasn't going to be easy.

"Desert Coffin!" Gaara squeezed his left hand into a fist and three screams were heard. Drops of blood spattered over his face as his eyes gleamed with sickening pleasure.

"Get away from me you bastard!" Sakura screamed and fisted her hand over the ninja's face, breaking it with a loud crack. The bloody faced man fell down with a thud, dead. When three more of them advanced towards her, she sighed and cursed. _Those idiots. Always picking on the female eh?_ Inner Sakura surged with rage. "I said GET AWAY!" A loud crackle was heard throughout the forest as a huge crater was formed underneath Sakura's fist. Naruto, Gaara and Neiji were smart enough to see what was going to happen and paused their attacks and jumped out of the way.

Bits and bits of rocks flew as six of their enemies fell into the crater and became buried in boulders of the mess Sakura's temper created.

"I knew I shouldn't have been able to believe those idiots could be enough to handle you four." A dead familiar voice sliced through the air as the four Konoha ninjas paused. More and more ninjas surrounded them, while the old ones just backed away into the midst of the others. _Sasuke-kun?_ Sakura idly wondered.

"You bastard, Sasuke!" Nobody could tell whether he was happy to see the lost man or not. Gaara glared at the Uchiha and diverted his eyes at a frozen Sakura. She was trembling. _Sasuke-kun! He's back!_ Inner Sakura cheered. _But he's on the dark side!_ Sakura countered. _This isn't Star Wars, Sakura! Sasuke's just doing what he has to do to avenge his clan. _

She slowly turned her head towards her long-lost friend and stared at him.

"S-Saskue-kun?" Sakura stuttered, not believing her eyes. The man before resembled little of the Sasuke she once knew. He was taller, skin paler and his eyes…gods, his eyes…they were so much colder and deadlier…and they were Sharingans. His lips curved into a smirk when his eyes met with hers.

With her heart pounding loudly in her ears, she wasn't sure if anyone was saying anything. A blonde man looked ready to attack if the ex-Leaf ninja were to attack his precious friend.

"Sakura." Sakura swore she heard her heart stop as a sickening gleam of amusement reached his now Sharingan eyes.

"Are you as annoying as I remembered you to be?" Sasuke's deep voice mocked. That's when hell broke loose.

* * *

This is the longest chapter I have ever written and I hope you like it! I didn't like my first draft of this chapter much so I rewrote it, although I'm not too pleased with this one either, I think I can live with it. XD I hope the characters were 'in character'...I tried! XP 

Please review!

-Sanguine Dreams


	2. The Slow Heal

**Disclaimer: **Although I didn't add this baby in the first chapter, must you ask? Even if I don't own it, I can still write fanfictions can't I?

* * *

Thank you:

Insane Lullabies, Elle, Mind At Loss, SilverSimoneLady, Fallen Angel Temari, SweetAssassin, Inevitable, BlackAngelBlood, mfpeach, seguha, Silver Fox Trot and Amaya za taishita

For your wonderful reviews.

* * *

Chapter Two

_The Slow Heal_

Started on: February 24, 2006

Finished: March 9, 2006

Edited: March 27, 2006

* * *

"Are you still that annoying?" Sakura's eyes widened at his words. A deliciously sinful smirk planted itself on the raven-haired man's lips. She parted her lips to speak, but no sound came out. _Is that all you have to say? Even after two years? That I'm annoying?_ Sakura winced.

Sasuke looked at the frozen kunoichi with amusement. Before he could utter another word, a shuriken was thrown towards the female. Being in the shock she was still in, her brain barely had the time to warn her that a sharp object was coming towards her, fast. A "cling!" made Sasuke avert his eyes away from the man who threw the shuriken towards Sakura and onto the Byakugan user, who deflected the shuriken with one of his own.

"So, they decided to replace me with two others?" Sasuke sneered with hostile. With a flick of his wrist he threw an incoming hairpin off its target, himself. Red orbs turned to the attacker and glared.

"No. They didn't replace you. Nobody could…" _After I tried so hard, why did he have to come back into my life? _Her heart clenched when she saw that smile. The same one Orochimaru gave her when he said Sasuke would go looking for him. It was of pure sadistic evil.

"You're still so annoying." Sasuke drawled in a singsong tone, with that sickening slimmer in his eyes. What could she say? No? That she wasn't the same idiotic girl that chased after him like a dog?

"No." It wasn't her voice. Her voice wasn't that deep, nor was it so sensually dangerous. Her voice didn't sound anything like pure velvet. Dozens of eyes darted their way to a pale-eyed man. "She's not the same annoying one you left. She's so much more annoying." So annoying. Always trying to prove herself, when there was nothing to really prove. Light violet eyes met with bright emerald, hoping she'd notice his underlying meaning. She was suppose to be smart, damnit! That was when feeling began to consume her whole.

The feeling started in her chest, then a sting occurred at her eyes; then some cursed droplets blurred her visions until she was forced to blink them away. Oh how she hated that feeling; it made her feel so weak, to have no control over her body's emotions. Noticing his fatal error, he directed a smile her way. It was just a twitch, nothing really; but it seemed to make things better.

_Thank you, Neiji-kun._ Sakura thought with gratitude. When a kunai flew towards her head, she merely looked as it came closer and closer. There was no possible way for her to dodge it in time, not in her state of mind right now. Thinking it was the end for her, Sakura closed her eyes; fully prepared for a blow…only, it never came.

Her eyes opened in shock as sand flew around her. Scanning the place, her eyes landed on the Kazekage. He met her glance and smirked.

"Fool. Never close your eyes in combat." The female ninja dumbly nodded her head and turned her pink head back towards the real enemy.

"I though you would've died by now." Sasuke taunted. Even with Naruto yelling at the man, her heart made a leap as her vulnerability decided to resurface again. The dark-haired man seemed to notice this as he decided to take the time to verbally assault her mentality.

Knowing her, she'd just get in the way of everything. She was a distraction. A hindrance and as stubborn as a mule when she set her heart on something. Especially when it came to defending her teammates. _No point wasting chakra on her, when a few words would do. _Sasuke thought. In a blink of an eye he was behind the kunoichi.

"Annoying little blossom." he whispered into her ear.

Somehow those words brought a smirk of her own onto her face. _Annoying am I?_ Sakura felt a surge of wickness brought on from her inner side.

"I'm not annoying. You are…Sasuke-_kun_." With a whip she brought her arm onto Sasuke's chest…only to be met with a small portion of his arm. She cursed at her slowness and made several hand movements. Within seconds, five other clones appeared in her form. They charged towards the traitor and made an attempt to penalize him; but in an instant the man was gone. Sasuke reappeared behind one of the Sakura's and kicked her onto the ground.

The other five Sakura's disappeared in puffs of smoke, as the real Sakura stood up with a wobble. _How did he know?_

"Sakura-_chan_. My eyes aren't there for nothing." A murmur shot through her ear, giving her a fright. _I didn't even notice him…_ Sakura thought, about to grab her kunai from her thigh strap, but a sickening crack made her wince and scream out in pain. Sasuke dislocated her left shoulder.

In an instant, Neiji was there to creak her fall. Gaara appeared in front of her and glared at the infamous Uchiha survivor.

"Don't hit girls." The Kazekage mocked before making multiple hand gestures. "Ryuusa Bakuryu!" A huge tumbling of the ground made the rest of the ninjas look in wonder. Soon, wave after waves of sand pushed through the forest, destroying and drowning everything in its path.

Sasuke smirked when he became engulfed in the sand. When the sand stopped pushing, Gaara looked behind him, and saw Sakura unconscious. _Idiot._ He made his way towards her and gestured Neiji to drop her on the ground.

Naruto was already there, trying to relocate her shoulder blade, but he wasn't much good at it. The petite female kept moaning and withering in her unconscious state of mind.

"Oh, for heavens sake, Naruto. Hand her to me." Neiji was getting impatient. How hard was it to relocate a shoulder? He had done it many times when he had gotten injured. He quickly took her arm and pushed.

When a scream erupted from her mouth, even Naruto knew her arm was back in place.

"Damn. Sakura-chan! Wake up!" Naruto shook the girl for a few moments before he got her to successfully open her eyes.

"W-What? What happened? Sasuke dislocated my shoulder…that's all I remember…" She racked her brain for any further information, but none came. "Hey! My arm's okay!" Sakura stared questionably at her arm until Gaara spoke.

"Neiji relocated your shoulder." _Yes! I got healed by a hot guy!_ Inner Sakura cheered. _Score!_

"Ah…Well, thank-you, Neiji-kun." The kunoichi smiled warmly at him, making him divert his eyes. "So…where's Sasuke-kun?" Silence answered her question making her doubt his survival.

"Gaara drowned-" The Kyuubi welder was cut off by Gaara. "He left. My sand didn't even harm him." _That's the Sasuke I know…so stubborn to live until he kills Itachi._ Inner Sakura nodded.

"Come on, we have to get to that village."

* * *

Sakura sweat-dropped when her teammates were attacked by a mob of fangirls. Naruto gave them a grin, it was normal, except it made the girls swoon at his 'foxy smirk'. Seriously, it was Naruto for goodness sakes!

Neiji and Gaara on the other hand had a vein pulsing. _Shouldn't Gaara be used to it by now?_ Sakura thought.

"_This is great…I wonder if the Kazekage-sama really would die…" A blonde ninja from the Sand sniffed, happy that Gaara was once again alive, only to be bonked across the head by a brunette._

"_No way Gaara-sama would die **that** easily!" The black haired girl scolded. "Gaara-sama's a real strong and silent type…and he's good-looking and elite…" _

"_Yeah, yeah, but still, there's some cuteness about him…" Other girls sighed dreamingly around him._

"_Next time for sure, I'll get Gaara-sama out of whatever mess he's in!"_

"_No! Me!"_

"_Me!" The girls screamed at each other towards the just awakened kazekage._

Sakura almost laughed at Gaara's expression right now. He was in the verge of killing the girls. Maybe he did have fangirls back home, but none of them were so forward as to grope him, which one of them did do._ AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! _Inner Sakura was having the time of her life rolling in the mind of Sakura and laughing. Maybe that's why she was shocked when Neiji pulled her towards a hotel, with Gaara and Naruto right behind. Sakura could feel the glares of hatred directed towards her, and her whole body tensed.

Neiji gave a low chuckle. "You're not afraid to face Uchiha, but girls?" _Grrr…Not my fault I don't want to face the wrath of screaming fangirls. God knows how mean I was to Naruto._ Sakura thought. _But you're still mean to him. _Inner Sakura's voice pointed out. _When he's a pervert, yea. And only when he's a pervert.

* * *

_

Something was wrong when everyone was walking into the same room.

"Um…Neiji-kun. Why are we going to the same room?" Sakura was scared for the answer.

"Because we're sharing a room. Our budget won't allow us to give each our selves a room." Neiji smirked at her reaction. "Plus, there's only one bed, we'll be sharing." He almost laughed out when her whole body tensed and she looked as if she was going to murder someone.

He opened the door and Naruto was the first to run in, followed by Gaara. _Guess she doesn't want to face the bed problem. Does she really thing we're going to share a single bed?_ Neiji thought with a glance at the kunoichi, who was still frozen in her spot. He bent down to her ear level and a thought crossed his mind.

"Sakura, do you not want to share a bed with me?" His husky breath made her shiver. Sure during the three years, after Sasuke's betrayal, Neiji and she became close friends. Sure, they joked around and once Ino told her that she gave him a lap dance when they were drunk, but never in her life had Neiji said something so…_Sexual._ Inner Sakura sighed dreamingly.

She looked up into his eyes and saw the amusement lingering there. She tightened her fist, ready to punch him, but thought better of it. _He did after all, fix my arm. _Sakura thought. _So, doesn't mean you can't tease him back. Not like he'll put it to heart. _Inner Sakura said with a small smile on her lips.

The apprentice of Tsuande slowly curved her lips into a smile and tippy-toed up to Neiji's ear.

"But, Neiji-kun…if I were to sure a bed with you…I don't think I could control myself…" Sakura nearly died right there. For the first time in her life, Neiji was blushing and his face…he was so embarrassed.

"Are you guys coming in!" Naruto demanded with a playful smile. "If you're not, then we can go eat ramen!"

* * *

Call it female instincts. Call it whatever you want, the feeling was the same forbearing feeling of something bad that was going to happen. After kicking out Naruto from the bathroom, she took a shower and changed into her extra pair of black clothing and undergarments. Deciding that binding her breast in those white cloth would take too long (Naruto, Gaara and Neiji told her that they were going to leave to meet the mayor of this city, so she had to be out in, at most, ten minutes), she strapped on a, what her mother called, bra. It felt weird because it gave her breast a chance to be free from their constricts and yet, her boobs wouldn't bounce up and down like a ball. Which was the worse feeling she had ever experienced.

Hoping that nobody would notice the change, she shook parts of the water drops clinging onto her hair and opened the bathroom door.

Too bad, everyone in the room noticed. And some weren't exactly quiet about the notice.

"Sakura-chan! You look like my Sexy no Jutsu, maybe more curvy…" Naruto muttered out loud. He had changed when Sakura was in the bathroom, along with Neiji and Gaara. It was only right to be presentable when meeting someone of status.

Sakura blushed and subconsciously wrapped her arms around her chest. Naruto grinned at her and grabbed one of her arms.

"C'mon on! The mayor wouldn't be exactly happy if we're late for our appointment!" Naruto called out to the other two males, while dragging Sakura out the door.

* * *

"Ahh… so you were sent here by the Fifth Hokage. As expected, you are to protect this city while investigating. Do not, by any circumstances, harm anyone of this place. That would be all." The young man grinned at them and stared at Sakura.

"And, Miss. I would suggest that you hide those babies of yours, wouldn't want anyone to be groping wrong areas would we now?" Sakura clenched her fists, ready to attack the depraved pervert, until Naruto stepped up and grasped her fist.

"If anyone were to grope wrong areas, I would not hesitate to kill him. With or without your consult." The blonde man looked straight into the mayor's eyes with all murderous intentions in mind. But as soon as the look was there, it disappeared with a smile. "Can we leave now? I'm hungry."

* * *

The four-team members walked down the street, with Naruto and Sakura leading. _Stupid Naruto. Why won't he eat anything but ramen?_ Sakura thought when they stopped in front of a ramen shop.

"I want three bowls of miso ramen, two beef and two chicken. You want anything Sakura?" Naruto asked. The remaining three members sweat-dropped at his appetite. Sakura looked around the shop for empty seats and her gaze fell onto a black haired teammate she was acquainted with not long ago.

"S-Sai! What are you doing here?" Sakura called out to the man slurping his noodles with a sketchbook in front of him. He looked up and met her gaze.

"The same reason you're here, ugly."

* * *

Well, I couldn't leave Sai out. He's one of my favorite characters, even if he is with Orochimaru. He's still cool!

Oh, and before I leave, I would like to take this time to wish _Sakura_ a **happy birthday**! XD

I hope this chapter was to your liking. I think this is the part where I **_shamelessly_** ask for hundreds of reviews. XD

Please review! Constructive criticism is welcomed!

_Sanguine Dreams_


	3. An Additional Mess

**Disclaimer:** Obsessions are not healthy. I should know. _Naruto_ is an obsession. I don't own it.

* * *

My greatest gratitude to those who reviewed: 

XUchihaSakuraX, StarlitBaby, Kurenai Chinoumi, Yokaigurl, Dances With The Wind,lilmisssushi, NoBO tHE hoBo, Insane Lullabies, sakurachn, Mind At Loss, SweetAssassin, KarmaLord (narutofan4ever), Silver Fox Trot, seguha, and monkeyn3rdZ

And to those to PM-ed me:

KarmaLord , Monkeyn3rdz, Moon Struck Sea and Insane Lullabies.

Thank you so much for your words of encouragement, all of you.

* * *

_Chapter Three_

An Additional Mess

Chapter started: April 18, 2006

Chapter finished: May 23, 2006

Chapter edited: May 23, 2006

* * *

Sakura gritted her teeth at her former teammate and smiled. 

"So you're here on the pursuit of intruders, eh?" Sai looked up with something akin to surprise in his eyes.

"Intruders? I was here to find out about the newest plans of Orochimaru." That perked Naruto's interest as he took the seat in front of Sai, ushering Gaara, Neiji and Sakura to do the same.

Gaara opted to stand, seeing that the table was only meant to fit four people, but Sakura rolled her eyes and dragged a chair over to their table.

"It was rumored that Orochimaru wanted to take a girl from this village." Sai began. "A girl?" Sakura gasped.

"Yes, ugly, a girl." Sai smiled. "But why?" Naruto whispered, in fear of people overhearing their conversation.

"I'm not sure, but I think she has something in her possession. Something that Orochimaru wants, that she shouldn't have." Neiji turned his head and scanned the area for any suspicious characters.

"What?" Gaara spoke for the first time.

"I don't know. It's only a rumor, but if it's true, it's my duty to take her to Konoha." Sai continued. "She shouldn't be much of an effort, if the rumors are true."

"Orochimaru-san…" Naruto perked his head and indicted for the table to quiet down, as he tried to eavesdrop on the table next to theirs.

"He was a moron, Rae. He's the reason our parents died, you know." A female voice spoke.

"That's not true! You killed our parents!" A second voice snarled. "You and your pathetic shadows."

"Seinai, you know that's not true! Heian didn't mean to." The voice, which Naruto identified as 'Rae', said.

"You know it's true, stop denying it." Seinai said. Neiji activated his byakkugan and looked through Sakura, to the table behind theirs. From what he made out, there were three females and an animal of some sort. Two of the females had an average amount of chakra; one slightly higher than the other, but the third one didn't seem to much of any chakra to cost any one of them the slightest amount of damage. 

"Are you done, Seinai? We're leaving and dropping this Orochimaru issue." The voice, which the group decided had to be Heian, said. Sakura glanced at the other four members and nodded at them. As soon as the three females left the shop, they stood up and followed.

They walked around town trailing the three girls, jumping from one rooftop to the next, until they finally saw them turn into an alleyway, in a secluded part of town. _Perfect_. Naruto thought as he jumped down, into the alleyway, quickly followed by the rest.

* * *

"You know, I was wondering what took you guys so long." A voice called out once the Konoha ninjas walked deeper into the alley. There was the girl, sitting on one of the garbage dumps. "I knew I felt people trailing after us. See, Heian! I was so right!" The girl jumped off the dump-container and pointed mockingly at another girl leaning on the wall right next to the dump, a little deeper into the alley. From what the Leaf-shinobis observed, the girl, Rea was tall, five foot seven at least, with dark blue hair and pale blue eyes. She looked very energetic and her choice of attire was unusual for a girl. She wore a huge, white T-shirt, smudged with dirt here and a pair of, what Sakura liked to call, 'Sasuke-shorts'. 

_So that's the girl with the highest amount of chakra of the group._ Neiji thought.

Sakura sweat-dropped. _That girl reminds me of Naruto._ She thought.

"What do you guys want?" The girl whom Rae pointed to earlier asked. _Heian._ Neiji noted. The girl was shorter than Rae, for sure. She seemed to be five foot three, at the most. Her dark black hair fell upon the small of her back and her onyx orbs seemed to gaze through his, and she looked away after a while. _Her chakra level is the weakest out of the group it seems._ Neiji conformed after a brief glance again. Her attire consisted of a black hoody and a pair of beige cargo pants.

"We heard you knew of Orochimaru." Sai stated. "Well, of course we know him, he's our mom's best friend. Or, _was_ anyways." Seinai glared at Heian. The girl was taller than Heian, but a bit shorter than Rae. She was tan, really tan and her dark light blue hair seemed to be a bit overly curly, with green eyes to pull it off. She wore a green skirt and a blouse that seemingly fit her perfectly, unlike Heian's black hoody that seemed one size to big for her.

"Well, then we would like to know of his whereabouts." Neiji demanded.

"If we knew, we wouldn't be here right now!" Rae yelled. "Orochimaru-san is after Heian and Hibana!"

_That's the girl he's after?_ The shinobis thought in union.

"Who's Hibana?" Naruto asked. A soft growl made him turn his head towards a small animal at Heian's boot covered feet.

"IS THAT A CAT!" Naruto demanded. "WHY THE HELL IS HE AFTER A CAT!"

"Actually, Hibana is a fox." Heian coughed out. "I don't know what he wants with my pet and I don't intend to find out."

"Still, Heian-san, why is Orochimaru after you. Your chakra isn't very…you don't have much of it." Neiji said bluntly. Rae stared at Neiji for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"You…ahaha…think…haha…she has no chakra!" Rae gasped out. "You hear that Seinai! Told you it'd work!" Seinai huffed and scowled at the laughing maniac.

* * *

The group of three girls, although uninvited, stuck with Naruto and his friends. Gaara was about to shoo them away, but a stern look from Sakura told him to stop. 

"So, Heian-chan. You never answered Neiji's question back there." Sakura smiled at the girl. A light blush appeared on the girl's pale skin. "Since we're going to be traveling together, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you. But…" She sighed. "We're not sure if it is his reason or not. We just arrived in this town this morning."

As soon as they were near the hotel they were suppose to rest for the night, Heian quickly glanced around making sure nobody was watching that weren't suppose to.

She lifted a finger and the shadows created by the street lamp outside started moving.

"Hey! Shikamaru can do that too! Why isn't Orochimaru after him then?" Naruto pointed out as Sai nodded in agreement. Rae grinned at them and pointed at the shadows "Watch."

Almost, like magic, the shadow lifted off the ground and became a wolf, although pure black with no eyes, it was a wolf.

"I can do that with my ink." Sai said nonchalantly.

"Ah…but you need ink right? And they can be destroyed easily. Although I'm not fond of Heian's…art, I know they don't break unless you find their weak spots." Seinai lectured. Neiji shook his head, disbelieving that the girl with such little chakra could do such a thing.

"And you can do this with her amount of chakra?" He asked, obviously not buying a single word they were saying.

"Yea she can!" Rae snapped at the albino-eyes man. His bored eyes told her he wasn't buying it. "Prove it. Show us that it's as strong as you sister says it is, and not an illusion." He muttered to Heian.

"I don't have to prove anything to you. Believe what you want to believe." Heian snarled. The wolf was gone, as was the smile on Sakura's face. "Neiji, stop giving her such a hard time."

He shrugged and walked into the hotel. Quickly followed by Naruto and Sai.

"You should get some sleep too. Orochimaru isn't going to let you girls off this easily." Sakura nodded, gave Heian a pet on the head and walked into the building.

"I can't believe you're dragging more people into a mess you created yourself, Heian. It's bad enough you destroyed out family, but now you dragged five other people into this." Seinai flapped her hair behind her and jumped into a tree near the room they were lodging in, before quickly opening the window and climbing through it. Rae stuck out her tongue at Seinai's trail before grinning at Heian.

"Nobody believes you." A long forgotten person said. Rae snapped her head up and looked at the person leaning on the lamppost.

"Who are you? I saw you with Sakura earlier, but who are you?" Rae gazed into Gaara's eyes, seemingly not scared of the cold deadly orbs.

"Gaara. I wasn't talking to you." Gaara snapped at the annoying girl. Rae narrowed her eyes. "Heian, do you want to talk to this bastard-"

"It's okay, Rae. You can go back to our room." Heian smiled softly at her little sister's protectiveness. "But he isn't even that hot!" Rae snapped. "Why would you want to talk to him!"

"Rae. Now." Heian's face became dead serious when her sister started rambling on about Gaara's flaws. "Besides, Hibana's here too."

Rae sighed in defeat. She quickly ran into the hotel, but not before sticking up her middle finger at Gaara's back.

"Your sister needs to learn manners." Gaara stated. A soft growl emitted from below him and he turned to see the fox glaring at him with golden eyes.

"What my sister needs is none of your conern. What do you want?" The girl demanded.

"To tell you that your group had better not be here to harm any one of my companions." Gaara said.

"If I wanted to hurt them, I would have a long time ago." Heian said arrogantly before brushing against him to walk into the hotel. "Oh, and Gaara. Please stop trying to land specks of sand on Hibana. He doesn't like that."

* * *

A rustle in the bushes that night made Sakura curious. Neiji was asleep; seeing that he was awake for the whole trip to watch over them. And Naruto…he was snoring very loudly. Sakura sighed and climbed out of bed quickly slipping on her shoes and sprinting outside. 

Gaara was already there with Sai when she followed the trail of faint charka.

"You felt it too?" Sakura murmured. The Kazekage gave her a bored look and continued to follow the trail that was becoming fainter and fainter by the step. Finally, the three of them stop at the clearing and there stood a woman, with long black hair chanting in some language.

"What are you doing?" Sakura shouted across the field. Startled the woman stopped mid-chant and turned around. What Sakura saw horrified her. The woman's eyes with dripping with poison, but it wasn't that that frightened her. Nope. Her eyes were pushed, she could tell, forcefully into her sockets.

"Ah. You must be Sakura. Sasuke-sama has spoken very well of you. It disgusts me, a girl like you. He must be an idiot." The woman snarled in a half mechanical voice. "You take up room anyways, you slut." Sakura saw red. How dare that woman question her honor! With a growl she launched at the woman, shouting curses at her along the way.

"Weak." Thewoman purred into her ear as she slammed Sakura into the ground. Sai was about to jump into the fight when Gaara stopped him. "This is her battle. Let her fight it alone." Sai was about to protest when he turned his head and noticed that Sakura had stood up with a look of determination in her eyes.

"You're not so strong yourself either." She taunted and the other woman took the bait as she charged forward. Sakura dodged her snake-like arms and tapped her back bone with charka. A snap was heard as the woman fell promptly onto the ground. She laughed as she slowly started to slither her way towards Sakura. A shrill scream emitted form her mouth when she saw that _thing_ moving towards her like a worm. With a hiss the woman leaped and tried to bite Sakura on the neck, only to be dodged by Sakura with a graze.

With a shout, Sakura threw an explosive tag at the snake and within moments it's tail was blown right off. The woman-snake hissed in pain before quietly slithering away, but not before catching Sakura's last words.

"Go tell Orochimaru that we're waiting for him. Hibana and Heian are with us, and if he wants them, he'd have to send stronger bitches." Sakura snarled. With the creepy snake gone, she felt a lot more at ease as she turned her head back to Gaara and Sai.

"You did well, Sakura." Gaara murmured with a light smile that froze her. He turned and left, sensing the anxiety she felt at the first smile she saw of his.

With Gaara gone, Sai sighed at Sakura. "Hey, ugly. You shouldn't doubt him that much. His smile should be trusted…" _Unlike mine._ Sai added silently.

Sakura gave him a faint smile before turning to leave and sleep for the night. "Yes. Thank you Sai-san. I'm pretty sure my doubt for Gaara-kun wasn't really needed." _Sure, he is mean and freaky at times. He's still a friend._ Her inner mind reasoned.

The smile that was usually planted on the artist's face dropped as soon as the cherry blossom was out of sight.

A sad sigh left his lips as he turned to the night sky.

"Sai-**_san_**…who am I kidding?…I'm such an idiot."

* * *

Whoa! Took me too long too finish this chapter. Thank you all for all your support:smirks: Seems like Sai feels a little something-something for Sakura-chan, eh? 

I blame my liking for this pairing on The Scheme by Kimbop. If you haven't read it, I suggest you do. I never thought of Sai and Sakura being together, but this fanfiction proved me wrong.

Sorry about the OCs, but they are necessary for the plot line. And if there are errors, please ignore it, I edited it while typing, so _some_ mistakes I couldn't catch; don't hurt me:hides behind a marshmallow:

Please review! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

-Sanguine Dreams


	4. Words

Disclaimer: Can I say yes?

Thank-you:

lilmisssushi, KarmaLord, Doctor Meowzie, SweetAssassin, sakurachn, crazy anime idiot (woot!), Monkeyluv4646, Kurenai no Chinoumi, NoBO the HoBo, seguha, read-n-review, Yokaigurl, monkeyn3rdz, XUchihaSakuraX, afitre, CharliexGirl, SweetDreams11, LALALALALA , Goukatenshi, Living Nemesis, animevivverz, Doseimotsuko, Kunoichi Sabaku no Gaara, ElizabethMarieBennett, M.Z, x 33 3alex, TearsIntoRoses, o0Dreamer0o, iFo0l, Sakura Angel 4eva, Kaeme, sakura182, HannahSakura.Proud to be Pinoy, XoXoGOSSIPGIRLoXoX, Kairi no Yuki, SimpleeLovely673, and FanFicHolic

for your support and words of encouragement! I've been a terrible person.

* * *

Chapter Four

**Words**

Chapter started: July 26, 2006

Chapter finished: March 9, 2008 (Wow…)

Chapter edited: March 9, 2008

* * *

A soldier who is afraid of nothing, troubles himself about nothing. She had always thought of herself as one of those soldiers, but when her youngest sister was born, she troubled herself with everything. 

Heian ran a pale hand through her black hair and inhaled deeply. The sun was barely rising beyond the batches of trees that surrounded her vision in her room.

"Heian, what are you doing up so early?" A gruff voice, just out of bed, mumbled. Without turning around, Heian smiled.

"I just couldn't sleep."

"Like the time you were watching that series?" Rae rubbed her eyes to clear her vision.

"Which one?"

"The one that the City of Dreams made. You know, the one with that really cute prince that didn't end up with the girl he loved because he let her go, knowing that she didn't love him?" Heian was up all night crying because of it.

"Oh. Yea, like that time. _You knew_ that he was suppose to end up with her! Plus he was so cute!" Heian whipped her head around and inhaled again to calm herself.

"Actually, I don't know. I didn't watch it, you just told me about it and showed me clips." Rae corrected, now fully awake. She pulled the covers off of her and went into the bathroom.

Heian smiled at her younger sister before stepping out the window; only after making sure that Hibana was there to tell Rae she left.

* * *

Sakura snapped her eyes open from her meditation once she felt a big mass of chakra coming her way. She immediately covered her chakra and jumped into the nearest tree. When she saw a black figure run into the clearing she was once in, she carefully pulled out a kunai without the smallest sound. 

Then the figure threw of its cloak and what Sakura saw almost made her fall out of her tree.

'Heian-chan?' She regarded the new girl closely: she seemed to be training. 'Why did she hide this all this time?'

When a sword was aimed at her direction, Sakura knew she messed up.

"Come out." The warning growl was enough to let Sakura know that Heian was serious.

"Heian-chan!" Immediately Sakura felt the smaller girl's chakra lessen considerably. _Strange._

"Oh, hi Sakura-san! How are you?" Heian blushed when the older girl came and felt her forehead.

"Isn't it a bit early for you to wake up?" She smiled at the shorter girl. Heian cocked her head and stared at her questionably.

"I mean isn't it-" Sakura paused mid-sentence and froze. _Something's coming…_

When she felt the younger girl's eyes on her, she knew that Heian was well aware of that fact.

"Early? It's just sunrise." That's when she heard it. The distinctive sound of a nearly silent screech and a wheeze. The sound of a bullet. Before she could warn the pink-haired girl about the danger, a hiss was heard. The bullet nearly missed its designation.

"Sakura, are you okay?!" Heian ran to the kunoichi, who was clenching her arm in pain. Another sound reached her ears, but this time Heian knew the dodge could be avoided. Carefully gripping Sakura, Heian managed to dodge the shurikens that were staked where their bodies were moments before. Thinking that she had avoided the worst of dangers, Heian was surprised when she felt something slice her left cheek.

"What the FUCK!" Heian cursed when the warm liquid of blood delicately flowed across her cheek. Her anger flared as she quickly scanned the area until her dark orbs rested on two shadowed figures behind a grove of trees.

Sakura noticed too; making a series of different hand gestures with one hand, she quietly chanted something Heian never heard before. A blast was heard to her right. Startled Heian turned that direction, before quickly looking back at their attackers.

A trail of burnt trees greeted her vision.

"Sakura-san. What happened?" The woman spoken to just lifted a finger to shush her.

"Our guests haven't left yet." She breathed in pain. The jutsu she just performed took a lot of her chakra. It was forbidden to be used; and totally created by her. _Shit, at this rate, I'll be out cold before even damaging them. _Sakura thought with a worried expression

"It's okay Sakura-san. I'll take care of them." Heian whispered before making a grab for the air in front of her. Soon multiple acid-like creatures lifted from the ground before sinking into the soil and moved towards the intruders. _This isn't the time to be pretending who I'm not. Sakura-san is injured because of me, and there's no way in hell am I going to risk her life._ Heian scowled at the sight in front of her. Apparently, her creations were only enough to keep one of them busy. The bulky figure sliced his way threw them, only to have them return again in stronger persuade.

That's why she was surprised when Sakura threw her onto the ground and took a hit.

"Fuck." She cursed when she saw the pink haired girl coughing out blood and a man in front of her.

"Itachi…" Sakura managed to gasp. _Itachi-kun?_ Heian looked at the man who injured her friend. _Why?_

"Your hate isn't nearly enough, blossom." Itachi whispered into her ear. "Relax and welcome death." His hands crept their way onto Sakura's neck and momentarily paused when a pain shot through his lower abdomen.

"But my will is." Sakura fired back. Itachi smirked and looked at the girl. He had chosen well; the girl was fitting to be a female opponent.

"Once your hate is, I'll be back." He moved passed the girl, taking no notice of Heian on the ground.

"Don't you dare walk away Itachi!" His movements froze before looking back.

"Ah-Heian-chan. It's nice of you to still remember me." Sakura looked at the man and her new friend. _They know each other?_ "How is Hibana?" He muttered coldly at her.

"Better." Heian bit out, standing and looking defiantly at her lost protector. "What happened to you?"

Itachi just stared at her, before looking at Kisame's failed attempts at getting away from Heian's _friends_. He made a brush of his left hand and instantly, the creatures were gone. "Still as foolish as I remembered you to be." Were the last words he said before disappearing.

* * *

_I don't get it. Itachi and Heian knew each other?_

"I know what you're thinking, and please don't ask." Heian softly whispered. Sakura stared at the small girl, gazing at the nearly destroyed forest with a broken stare. "Just know, I'm not your enemy." Standing up with a wobble, Heian leaned on Sakura for support walking towards their hotel.

Sakura sighed at the stubborn girl and silently began to heal her. Pleased that she wasn't going to get an infection from the deep cut on her cheek, she began to heal herself.

"Sakura-chan!!! We have a lead on Orochimaru!" Naruto was the first to greet them when they stepped into the hotel. "It's been rumored that he's in Mist right now." _Why would he be there?_ Rae made eye contact with Heian and nodded.

"I guess we should go then." Rae coughed out, slinging her bag over her shoulders, beginning to walk out the door, out of the crew's life.

"Where are you going?" The cold voice sliced through the air and Heian turned around only to be met with dull green eyes. "You are going to explain yourself before taking another step." The kazekage held up a head band with a symbol that was scratched beyond being recognized. Seinai sighed from the stairs she was descending, grabbed the headband from the man's hands and walked out the door.

"Good Luck." She spat before disappearing in a poof of smoke. Hibana slowly trotted towards his owner and mewled softly.

"Well, it's just me and you now Rae." The said girl noticed softly. Looking back at the group she met only hours ago, she smiled softly and turned to walk out.

"I didn't say move." Sand wrapped around the ankles of the two females and the fox, preventing them from moving unless they wanted to break the bone. "Explain."

"I want my heart back." Heian softly spoke, beginning her reasons of pursuing Orochimaru.

"Your heart?" Sakura looked surprised. "How can you live, if you don't have-"

"A heart? The beat within me is artificial, moved by chakra alone. Orochimaru stole my heart two years ago when I was unconscious." Sai nodded at the explanation. He didn't feel anything for a majority of his life, so the story didn't seem so far-fetched.

"Is that how you know Itachi?" Eyes widened at the slip of the tongue. The whole group looked back at Heian with distrust sketched onto their faces.

"What?!?! How does she know about Itachi-kun?" Rae demanded angrily.

"He decided to stop by, not knowing I was going to be there." Heian replied. The sand against her ankles tightened its grip, warning her to stop stalling.

"Itachi was the one who found me when Orochimaru left me for dead."

* * *

The clearing wasn't as clean as they would've liked, but it suited their needs for the night. Sakura had refused to let the two girls on their own with so much danger in their way. The other members, accepted the fate with a couple of choice words, punches in the arm and a death glare. 

"So, Heian, what clan are you from?" Naruto attempted to make friends with her in his cheery attitude. Heian gave a small smile and shook her head. "I'm not sure, my father was never there, so there was only my mother, who hated me. I was cursed with this gift and she was cursed to bare the burden of it until I was old enough." Rae was happily annoying Sai as he was sketching the scenery before him. A small twitch in the empty of her chest made her want to cry. This was the first time anyone accepted them.

She was going to fight to stay. This group was going to be her new home.

* * *

I'm super sorry for the super late update! I've been terribly lazy for the past year, and inconsiderate of my readers. I'm here to say I've not given up on my stories and I'll try to update as often as I can. My current motivations are my reviewers, the newly uploaded manga chapters and the talented writers' stories I've been reading instead of updating. (sweatdrop) FORGIVE ME!!! 

This chapter was mostly about Heian, as she will play a large role in the fall of Orochimaru (don't worry, it will be the main characters that take him down). Sakura will shine in the next chapter, so stay tuned!

Don't forget to review!

- Sanguine Dreams

PS for those of you worried that one of the OC's will end up with a Naruto character, do not fear! I have no intentions of pairing them up with any of them. I personally hate it when an OC is "with" a main character, because it makes it seem like the author is trying too hard to be with an anime character (no offense to those out there!). This is just what I think. (runs away in fright)


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